Granola Balls (Raw, gluten-free, potentially vegan)

You know what the problem is with high-energy snacks? Those for whom they were designed--those with metabolisms approximately equivalent of 150 pound hummingbirds--forget about the snacks you've made and wander about the house wondering what they can possibly eat and then decide to just go to Rural King instead so they can get to work on the yard. You, on the other hand, you who have every bit the metabolism of a very nearly 35-year-old woman, do not forget. You know what's sitting there in your cupboard or refrigerator or freezer. You brush against them as you clean the kitchen. They catch your eye as you gather ingredients for leftover night. They call to you. And then you call to your husband at Rural King and ask why he hasn't eaten the snack you made for him and question whether he really loves you and also whether he thinks your butt looks big in the jeans you're wearing today. And then he says you're butt is just fine and that he forgot about the snacks and that he'll eat them when he gets home and that he has to go because he's carrying 20 pounds of grass seed and the checker is waiting for him. And then you hang up and eat some granola bites and feed some to the kids and by the time he gets home, starving of course because he skipped breakfast and/or lunch, they're all gone.

Note: Although the above story is actually a piece of fiction, there is much truth at its heart. Truth that gets repeated at least once a week in this house. Oh the efforts those of us with lean (albeit strong, tough, and perfectly handsome) husbands go to in order to keep said husbands weighing in a few dozen pounds (or even a good baker's dozen) heavier than us. Tragic, don't you think. The great thing about these being in smallish balls is that you can practically throw them into your husband/teenager/woke-up-too-late-for-breakfast child's mouth as they rush out the door.

So don't give up. Make some healthy, high-energy snacks. Remind your man to take them to work. Eventually it will sink in. Unless the dog/kids/grandmas/neighbor's kids get to them first. Sigh.

Granola Balls
Adapted from Smashed Peas and Carrots
Makes 12-18 1-inch balls(a little sketch on the numbers here; I made a bunch of this stuff last week and it's all smearing together for me)
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cost: $1.90
oatmeal: .10, peanut butter: .50, honey: .70, coconut: .60

1 C oatmeal (choose a type that hasn't been processed with gluten-y foods if you're going gluten-free)
1/2 C peanut butter
1/4 C honey (use agave nectar if going vegan)
1 C coconut flakes (I used unsweetened; if using sweetened you may want to cut back the honey by a Tablespoon or two)
1/2 C ground flaxseed (optional; I skipped because we didn't have and threw in some more coconut)
1/2 C chocolate chips (optional)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything until fully incorporated. You can let this chill for easier ball-rolling, but I just go for it and roll them into balls.

These keep very well refrigerated or frozen.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Work-a-Day Wednesday: Avocado Smoothie (aka Raw Avocado Pudding)

If you've ever watched a sitcom (especially from the 1950's) you know that when people come home from work, they they relax by knocking back some type of alcoholic beverage. That's not really my scene. Especially considering that on Wednesdays my work involves an afternoon of piano lessons with other people's children and I suspect that it just might not go over well with those parents picking up their kids. "Excuse me Mrs. So and So, but I can't talk to you for another minute, because after finishing little Timmy's lesson, I really need to throw down this glass of bourbon. Or maybe a few. See you next week."

Not that there aren't days I'm not tempted to sit down and enjoy something grown up and relaxing. Wednesday is definitely one of those days. Avocados are grown up (in this house at least; my kids won't touch them). So is plain yogurt. Yeah, you're going to add a banana and some juice, so we'll just call it cocktail hour, okay.

At Aldi last week (and this week!), beautiful, perfect avocados were going for $.49 each. I purchased several. The unfortunate thing about avocados is that they all ripen at the same time (rude). But that just means you get to glut yourself on them for a few days.

This smoothie is going to look fairly green. Be not afraid. It's also a little thicker than some smoothies. But it's smooth, sweet perfection make that not a problem. In fact, as I drank mine, I realized that it was just the thing that raw foodists would label a pudding. Which made me realize that this could easily be a raw dessert or appetizer if that's your thing. You'll have to use a yogurt that's been cooked at 104 degrees F (I believe) or less, but I'm assuming if you're a raw foodie, you can totally handle that.

Avocado Smoothie (aka Raw Avocado Pudding)
adapted from Everyday Food
Serves 2
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cost: $1.15 or $.58/serving
(avocado .50 if you're lucky, banana: .15, yogurt: .20, juice: .30)

Note: I first made this with orange juice (which is what the original recipe recommended), which I thought would be weird, but was surprisingly good. Then I made it with apple juice, which I liked even better. The type of juice you use will affect the flavor, but both are very good, so use what you've got.

1 avocado
1 banana, frozen
1/2 C nonfat yogurt
1 1/2 C orange juice or apple juice

Blend until smooth. Add a bit more water (or some ice cubes) if it's too thick.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Raw Chocolate Oat Breakfast Cookie

Cheap Eat Challenge, Part 2: Watch as our family of 6 eats on less than $10/day.

The Secret Recipe Club reveal day has come around again. I always look forward to it. It introduces me to a new food blog and gives me plenty of motivation to try new recipes. This month that was especially true. I was assigned For the Health if It, written by the lovely Faith.  Faith's blog of full of vegetarian and vegan recipes. Which put me a little out of my element. And we all know that can be good for a person sometimes. I gravitated to the breakfast recipes because, well, I have an obsession. There were several that looked tasty. I chose--okay prepare for the shock--a breakfast cookie. Yeah, um, speaking of obsessions. But wait, I'm really not as dull as you think; it wasn't just any breakfast cookie. It was a raw breakfast cookie.

I've been wanting to try one for a while. Vague idea meet motivation. Raw breakfast cookies (or perhaps raw cookies of all varieties) are mixed up and then chilled--usually in a bowl or plate so they have a cookie-like shape. In this way, I must warn you baked cookie aficionados that they're not traditional cookies that you just pop off the pan and eat with your hand. Mine was firm, but it was the type of thing you still eat with a spoon.

And here's the part where I confess. This was a nice vegan recipe. And I de-veganed it. It wasn't my fault, I swear. Okay, it was kind of my fault. But it was also the fault of my refrigerator, which did not contain all the proper ingredients (I thought it was supposed to birth them when I needed them. What? Your fridge doesn't do that?). And it was also the fault of my shopping plans gone awry. As in gone not at all. I dislike shopping as a rule and so it is fairly easy for my shopping plans to go awry.

Thus. Thus, this vegan recipe became merely vegetarian. I also made several other changes due to my refrigerator's inability to spontaneously sprout ingredients I've neglected to purchase. We'll forgive it though, won't we? Oh, I think we will. (P.S. Faith--I do hope you will forgive me as well. Just so you know, I also made your deviled eggs and didn't change a darn thing and enjoyed the lighter version of an old favorite. So why the heck didn't I post those? Um, well, because these contain chocolate and you eat it for breakfast.)

Below I'll be posting Faith's original recipe as well as my mutilated, though tasty, variation.

Raw Chocolate Oat Breakfast Cookie
adapted from For the Health of It
Serves 1-2
Prep time: 5 minutes plus refrigerating overnight (although you could just spoon it out of the bowl)
Cost: $.45
(oats: .05, milk: .04, nuts: .30, other stuff: .06-ish)

Original:


1/3 C vegan milk of your choice
1/4 C wheat bran
1/4 C oat flour
2 Tbsp chocolate protein powder
1 Tbsp flax meal
1 Tbsp finely sliced almonds
1 Tbsp apple sauce
1/2 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
toppings of choice (she used chocolate chips and blueberries)

Mutilated, but yummy (and also potentially gluten-free), adaptation:

Note: You'll probably want to taste thid before you put them in the refrigerator overnight to check the sweetness. If you want them sweeter, up the sugar a bit. I've listed it below with a range.

Another note: I think these would be super tasty with some chopped chocolate chips mixed in.

1/4 C 2% milk
1/4 C oats (I gave them a spin in the blender a few times to get them smaller and more wheat bran-ish in size/texture)
1/4 C oat flour
1 1/2-4 tsp sugar
2 tsp cocoa powder
2 Tbsp super chopped cashews
1 Tbsp apple sauce
1/2 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
(I ate mine without toppings)

Mix all ingredients (except toppings) together in a small bowl. Spread evenly on a plate (I just left mine in the bowl because I am lazy. Which must be clear from the fact that I failed to make it to the store for over a week as I stewed on this recipe.)

Place in refrigerator overnight. In the morning, add toppings if using. Eat it up. You'll probably do this with a spoon instead of grabbing it up like you would with a non-raw breakfast cookie because--unless you've coated it in M & M's--it will sort of melt/mush in your hand.

PRINTABLE RECIPE